Monday, February 01, 2010
1/24/10 race re-cap, pix @ kennybz.com
We got incredibly lucky with the weather! My only major goof was forgetting to grab lunch for all of the day-long volunteers, that's how busy it was. To those that missed out on lunch, I will fix that. A few racers went down with nothing more than road rash, so all in all, it was a great day of racing -- safe & fast.The only thing that sucked was the low turnout in the 55+/60+ and the women's categories. Here's the thing about low turnout: I can EASILY fix that by replacing those categories with Cat. 5 racers in putting as many cleats on the ground. If February doesn't turn around, then there are many possibilities in fixing this.
Option 1) place the women's categories & 55+/60+ at the start of the race at 7am and just get them the hell out of the way.
Option 2) Combine the 55+/60+ with the women and have them race at the same time.
Option 3) Have 55+/60+ race as the same time as the women at 7am and get both low-turnout categories out of the way.
Option 4) Chop the women & 55+/60+ racing times down to 40 min. and make room for a Cat 5b race.February will determine if options need to be considered. It will matter not if it rains, if there are conflicting races or if people's coaches tell them to do something else. I will continue to focus my love upon the racers that show me love and will forget about those who do not show love!
Option 1) place the women's categories & 55+/60+ at the start of the race at 7am and just get them the hell out of the way.
Option 2) Combine the 55+/60+ with the women and have them race at the same time.
Option 3) Have 55+/60+ race as the same time as the women at 7am and get both low-turnout categories out of the way.
Option 4) Chop the women & 55+/60+ racing times down to 40 min. and make room for a Cat 5b race.February will determine if options need to be considered. It will matter not if it rains, if there are conflicting races or if people's coaches tell them to do something else. I will continue to focus my love upon the racers that show me love and will forget about those who do not show love!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
One of the things I love to hate...The Real Housewives of Orange County
There's a new 1) God
2) Husband
3) Children
What I really like about bible-thumpers like her is why did God make it such a priority for her to have 700cc breast implants? Isn't "pride" one of the 7 deadly sins? She also tells the world how God told her to keep that husband of hers. Everybody knows why, right?Also, Slade Smiley is still in play. He worked at Jax Bicycle Center in Long Beach back in the late 80s and was the Alaska Cat. III Sate Crit Champ, where he beat an eskimo, a polar bear and a penguin across the line!And lastly, one of the other 'stars,' Tamra has an adult son from a previous marriage who's on his way to jail. I'm shocked! Well, the new husband got all butt-sore because stepson stole the car on a suspended license and went driving for the weekend while the parents were gone. Tamra just cannot figure out why step daddy all butt-sore about the car theft & joy riding on a suspended license. Here's how you fix that: change the locks on the house so crackheads have a harder time busting into house, hide car keys, tell Gold-digger to either buck-up & pay rent or start rooming with adult son...done!The Real Housewives of Orange County, Thursday nights on Bravo TV, get your hate on!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Online PRE-REGISTRATION will close at 8pm on Thursday....currently, CBR's at 504 annual members
If you miss the deadline, then you can still register on the day of the race. Pre-registering for the race saves you $6 each race, so it would be wise to pre-register. It looks like we dodged the bullet with the rain, but it ain't over 'till it's over. I hope for dry concrete all day!CBR has 504 annual members, so that probably means that we'll hit the 1,000 member mark but another 500 members will pay the regular $50 annual membership. I'm surprised that so few renewed, given that I mailed the 1,000+ renewals with a return envelope but stranger things have happened. Now that we're passed the January 15th mark, I'll be taking a lot longer to process those licenses because I have BAR Series, Eldo & criterium stuff to do.
Friday, January 15, 2010
I have saddle sores on top of saddle sores, but there's only 1 more day for the EARLY BIRD annual membership discount!
1) Today is the last day to receive the EARLY BIRD discount for the 2010 CBR annual license. The reason why I do this is that I need to process as many licenses as possible BEFORE the start of the criterium BAR Series. Once that gets rolling, I have very little time to process licenses and I don’t want anyone upset due to my delays!2) If people are so in love with the USCF so as to not become a CBR member, then I understand such one-way loyalty (you loyal to them, them not loyal to you). It’s not that I want a negative tone to this topic, but there are some people out there that think like this, and that’s okay. I pack a lotta love in the Masters’ prize list because I want it competitive, fast, and full fields with the best competitors. If I cannot appeal to one’s loyalty, then maybe I can appeal to one's wallet. The discount to a weekend crit will be $7 and then another discount of $5, assuming one does another race. That’s a savings of $12 per Sunday CBR crit…it quickly adds up, especially if you throw in an El Dorado or two! For those that want to race with the best and waste money, then I encourage you to “vote” by not being an annual CBR member!
3) I’m very happy with seeing more “SHARE THE ROAD” signs in Long Beach. I attribute that to Long Beach City Manager Pat West, who has done much to make Long Beach a bicycle-friendly city. I hope to see the culture changed within our country by having drivers actually share the road with cyclists, and it starts with cities like Long Beach who step up and make the decision to make their city bike-friendly!
3) I’m very happy with seeing more “SHARE THE ROAD” signs in Long Beach. I attribute that to Long Beach City Manager Pat West, who has done much to make Long Beach a bicycle-friendly city. I hope to see the culture changed within our country by having drivers actually share the road with cyclists, and it starts with cities like Long Beach who step up and make the decision to make their city bike-friendly!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Today's ride...Tim Lewis broke collarbone on training ride....
IMHO,
There were three (3) strong non-Allegro racers: Kurt, Kyle, & Bill. With so many Allegro racers, and it's good to see them come out to play, one or two of them should grab a friend and launch from about 12th wheel position. Then they got 3 teammates OTF (off the front), forcing KKB (Kurt, Kyle, Bill) to chase....if they don't chase, then send another 2-3 guys OTF and have them TT it to their teammates OTF. It's Allegro's obligation, by the sheer numbers, it being their ride & for the purpose of training, to force non-Allegro into defense.I cannot stress this enough: INITIATIVE, INITIATIVE, INITIATIVE. As soon as the ride commenced, Kyle attacked, thus putting 20+ Allegro members on defense!I stress this team practice in training because I don't see the sense in paying $25 to race & then learn tactics & teamwork then when we ccan do it for free in a group training ride. For example, I told Tim Lewis, who I wish a very speedy recovery, to stay with Kyle. Kyle takes a lot of initiative and is very strong. During a stint where Tim was not attached to Kyle, Tim tried to make up for it by bridging. By that time, it was too late as the group was not letting Tim go, so Tim was bridging the break, which had Allegro guys in it. A little later, I told Tim that if he stayed behind Kyle, that he could go when Kyle goes, thus reacting immediately instead of seconds later, seconds that can make or break a successful break in a race.All in all, I was VERY happy to see all these racers come out to play. It's kinda hard to manage tactics with a group of 20+ racers, so I'm trying to get the basics nailed down first, which is to not chase down teammates. Next on that list will be titled, "Counterattacks-how to make opponents chase so they get tired before the finish."
There were three (3) strong non-Allegro racers: Kurt, Kyle, & Bill. With so many Allegro racers, and it's good to see them come out to play, one or two of them should grab a friend and launch from about 12th wheel position. Then they got 3 teammates OTF (off the front), forcing KKB (Kurt, Kyle, Bill) to chase....if they don't chase, then send another 2-3 guys OTF and have them TT it to their teammates OTF. It's Allegro's obligation, by the sheer numbers, it being their ride & for the purpose of training, to force non-Allegro into defense.I cannot stress this enough: INITIATIVE, INITIATIVE, INITIATIVE. As soon as the ride commenced, Kyle attacked, thus putting 20+ Allegro members on defense!I stress this team practice in training because I don't see the sense in paying $25 to race & then learn tactics & teamwork then when we ccan do it for free in a group training ride. For example, I told Tim Lewis, who I wish a very speedy recovery, to stay with Kyle. Kyle takes a lot of initiative and is very strong. During a stint where Tim was not attached to Kyle, Tim tried to make up for it by bridging. By that time, it was too late as the group was not letting Tim go, so Tim was bridging the break, which had Allegro guys in it. A little later, I told Tim that if he stayed behind Kyle, that he could go when Kyle goes, thus reacting immediately instead of seconds later, seconds that can make or break a successful break in a race.All in all, I was VERY happy to see all these racers come out to play. It's kinda hard to manage tactics with a group of 20+ racers, so I'm trying to get the basics nailed down first, which is to not chase down teammates. Next on that list will be titled, "Counterattacks-how to make opponents chase so they get tired before the finish."
